Red Tower (Book 2 of the Red Series)

Chapter 2: Campfire

The s'more were so gooey, so good, and so, so gone. They stared in disbelief at the damage they had done in the course of 15 minutes. Skewers and sticks laid strewn about as hot dog packages were ripped open. No logs were there for them to sit on, so they sat cross-legged in a circle, the fire blazing in front of them. The only logs they had they needed to save so the fire wouldn't die out before dinner. The flashlight passed from hand to hand until it eventually met Leo's hands.

Leo held the flashlight to his face, his eyes twinkling with sheer delight. "Have any of you heard the tale of the wheel?"
Owls hooted above hidden in the deep shadows of the night. The trees seemed to grow taller with the darkening night. The fire popped and sizzled, burning out softly. Hirami tossed another log onto the fire. It hissed and flared in response, sparking a brighter orange as it climbed towards the heavens. Stars blinked in and out in a scattered rhythm, crickets chirping in time.

"The wheel?" Robin echoed, grabbing a hot dog and roasting it for Derek.

"Yeah bro, the wheel. Legend has it this very wood is haunted by the victims of the wheel killer. They came to this wood just like us, five exactly, searching for something in the forest when the Wheel Killer came after them."

"Oh jeez..."Rose rolled her eyes. "Lemme guess, they go camping, they find a monster or killer and then die off one by one because their stupid."
Leo didn't miss a beat. "No monster-slash-killer out there, but one of them."

"Yeah, because you totally didn't just pull that out of your ass..."

"It's a true story! There really was a group of kids that were murdered here!"

"Fine. Fine. Go on."

"Thank you! Anyways, the kids came into the woods and they found this dead body just chilling in a shrub. Or so the police report says. They started freaking out and then they panicked and went deeper...and deeper...and deeper into the woods..."

Everyone leaned in a bit closer (except for Rose).

"Then...They heard a chainsaw in the distance! They screamed as they saw that their best friend was the killer! They ran into the woods, but one of them was murdered!"

Rose smirked. "How, idiot?"

"Her... Her head was chopped off by the chainsaw! Duh!"

"This is so stupid. I'm out."

"Rose wait!" Leo called out after her." You're gonna miss the best part! You see, this wasn't your normal killer, no, no, no! You see this very woods used to have a carnival that would come here and had a bunch of trails and paths to it. It was almost like an amusement park since the rides were open all seasons but winter, but the actual carnival performers only came during the summer. Then...no one knows why, but suddenly five years after it opened, the carnival performers stopped coming. Then the rides kept breaking down and the workers stopped coming until it was completely abandoned. Then a couple of teens set it on fire and -."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"QUIET!" Anyways! So the killer cirlced closer and closer until she knocked out each one with her huge chainsaw-"

"How did she get a chainsaw in the first place?"

"I don't know! That's just how the story goes! ANYWAYS! She carried their bodies to the carnival-"

"All by herself?"
"Yes! She carried the bodies to the wheel and stuck them in the seats and set it on fire!"

"What? That doesn't even make any fucking sense!"

"It is said," Leo continued, ignoring her now completely. "That the spirits of the dead kids still haunt this very forest, waiting to lure new victims into the fun filled carnival and onto the wheel. And who knows? One of those kids could be here, right now...waiting...To set us one fire!" He screamed as he dramatically flicked the flashlight on and off.

Derek hid behind Robin instinctively from the overstimulation. Good thing it was dark or they would have all seen Robin blush profusely. With an air of confidence, Leo flicked it off completely.

Rose clapped slowly. "Wow. What a great story."

"Okay so I forgot a few parts...or maybe half the story, but it was better than Robins!"

"Hey!" Robin nearly threw the now burnt hotdog at him.

"Yeah sorry dude, but flying aliens abducting a tree wasn't cool."

"Shut up Rose!"

Silent agreement circled around the fire. They all began unrolling their sleeping bags silently.

"They didn't die."

They all turned to Derek.

"They were drugged. They didn't die."

They all nod silently.

"Yeah that's...that might have happened."

Derek shook his head silently, but didn't push it any further.

Robin finally looked at what he was doing. "Oh shiiiii-" He quickly pulled the flaming hot dog out of the fire, blowing on it rapidly.

"Oh god, sorry man I just burned your dog."

"It's fine." Derek said and grabbed another one and handed it to Leo to cook.

"So..." Leo turned awkwardly to everyone. Silence had fallen for some time now. "Now what? Is everyone ready for bed?"

"Hmmm....a little..." Hirami mumbled, yawning cutely.

Robin looked at the sky. "Look at the stars!"

They all looked up simultaneously. The stars were indeed beautiful. No street lamps. No traffic lights. No noisy dogs keeping up the neighborhood. No parents fighting. No cars honking. No urban lights. No light at all except one burning out fire and a small flashlight. The stars twinkled with a promise of eternity and love. A promise of prophecy and hope. Majestic clouds rolled across the moon in soft waves, the moon glowing an elegant gold color behind it. It was truly stunning.

"Hey look at that cloud it looks like buttcheeks!"
They all burst out laughing. A stunning sight indeed.

"Alright guys. Time for bed." Leo said and finished unrolling his sleeping bag.

They all nodded. Robin, Rose and Hirami took the tent on the left of the fire and Derek and Leo took the one on the right. Hirami poured water on the fire before heading to her tent, sending shadows across the field.